A.M. Roundup: Levy used ethics panel as shield

Good morning! Happy weekend! It’s supposed to be sunny and warm here in Upstate America, so escape the drudgery of your office if at all possible. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in New York City today without any announced public schedule. Here are today’s headlines…

Eliot Spitzer called Citizens Union Executive Director Dick Dadey to complain that the organization signed off on a redistricting deal brokered by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. (NYP)

Prosecutors asked to sentence Carl Kruger to nine years in prison. (NYT)

Wendy Long on the Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill: Far from putting Wall Street on a sounder footing, the law is hindering economic recovery. Unless Barack Obama is replaced by Mitt Romney and unless we fire regulation-giddy senators such as New York’s Kirsten Gillibrand, the U.S. will be unable to protect its position as the world leader in financial markets.//No one denies that appropriate federal regulation can encourage innovation and healthier corporate behavior. But the answer to excess on Wall Street is not excess in Washington. Dodd-Frank micromanages and second-guesses businesses, while impairing the availability of credit that is vital to economic expansion. It is a full-employment act for bureaucrats, lawyers and consultants. (WSJ)

Ex-Sen. Russ Feingold: In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the Citizens United ruling, which is doing more damage to our democracy than any decision in modern American history. In 2012, led by Gov. Cuomo, New York has a chance to fight back by enacting state-based, publicly funded campaign reforms.//Passing such reforms would do more than just benefit New Yorkers — it could ignite a wave of changes in other states, advancing the kind of national movement that, to date, has been smothered by corrupting corporate interests. (DN)